§ Mr. Rostasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress is being made with the proposed scheme for deducting tax directly from national insurance retirement pensions and widows' benefits.
§ Mr. Ridley:As the detailed procedures for the scheme have been developed, it has become clear that in present circumstances the administrative advantages it could bring are not on the scale originally envisaged. We have therefore decided that for the time being pensioners should continue to pay tax in the same way as they do at present, receiving their State pension without any direct deduction of tax from it; the possible need for a direct deduction scheme of this sort will be reconsidered in later years.